Dear Editor,

So now we are finding out the city is in the red and is “pursuing a strategy of both lowering services and raising taxes?”

Kirkland residents may recall the city has charged developers insufficient fees for about 10 years — they simply forgot or chose not to reassess impact fees.

Either way, the City of Kirkland has been generous with developers over the past 10 years or so. Seems that if they had been receiving the correct amount in fees we might actually be in the black.

Not everyone who lives in Kirkland can afford increased taxes and less services, nor should we be paying for the mistakes of those we put faith into for running the city. I am surprised the Council would choose to make up the difference by creating more potential harm into our neighbors’ lives than to figure out a better alternative that creates a caring society.

~Leah Preston Ing, Kirkland